The Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club has been invited to perform at The White House this afternoon in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. A delegation of about 500 dignitaries and politicians from around the world will be hosted by President Barack Obama, as a historic shift in policy between Cuba and the United States continues. The event is due to stream live, around 3:45 PM ET, at whitehouse.gov/live.

Led by members of the original, Grammy Award–winning Buena Vista Social Club band—vocalist Omara Portuondo, vocalist and guitarist Eliades Ochoa, laúd player Barbarito Torres, trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal, and trombonist Jesús "Aguaje" Ramos—the musicians will perform Cuban classics as "Chan Chan" and "El Cuarto de Tula" as heard on the 1997 album.

In the midst of their sold-out North American leg of their international "Adiós Tour," the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club will be the first Cuban musical group to perform at The White House in more than 50 years.

The original Buena Vista Social Club album was recorded for World Circuit Records by Ry Cooder, Nick Gold, and Juan de Marcos over seven days in Havana in 1996, bringing together many of the great names of the golden age of Cuban music in the 1950s, several of whom were coaxed out of retirement for the sessions. The album, released in North America on Nonesuch Records, became a surprise international best-seller and the most successful album in the history of Cuban music. The album is being reissued on 180-gram vinyl, to be released in the US on October 30, available to pre-order here.

In the years that followed, the Buena Vista veterans toured the world to ecstatic audiences and were the subject of a celebrated feature film directed by Wim Wenders. Further acclaimed recordings followed, including solo releases by the singers Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, virtuoso pianist Rubén González and bassist Cachaíto López and a celebratory live album recorded at a triumphant concert at New York's Carnegie Hall.